Stern Algorithm

World of Light

Din

Level 3 - (25/30) EXP
Location - Mad Max
Word Count:

@Gentlemanvaultboy @Lugubrious

Casting the Spell of Spring on the ground in front of Gogoat caused Din to sense a momentary burst of resilience in the Pokemon that she remembered feeling when they were still in the forest, suggesting that Gogoat was somehow 'tougher' in grassy areas. As Linkle pulled up next to her, Din replied, "Yeah, it's a Pokemon. I was looking for a horse, but found this guy instead. I thought you'd be looking for a heroic steed as well, but somehow that...machine suits you." Din was enjoying herself quite a bit, since she'd never ridden an animal with this much skill at such an impressive speed, but she balked as the other carts leaped a canyon, and Linkle followed suit. Din didn't know if her Gogoat could handle such a distance. She doubted a flesh and blood and...er leaf, animal could generate the speed or power needed to clear such a gap. Yet she could sense the confidence and trust in Gogoat, who seemed intent on following the others as Din wished. She decided to reciprocate Gogoat's trust and spurred it on. Gogoat gathered speed as it approached the edge, Din could feel it's powerful muscles flex and heave, coiling up like powerful springs before launching itself over the chasm. But it soon became clear that they were nowhere near clearing the edge. Din's heart jumped into her throat, but she could still feel Gogoat's trust. That was when she realized that he trusted her to do her part. Time seemed to slow as they hovered in midair at the zenith of their arc. Din looked down and saw a withered tree growing tilted off the far cliff edge. She cast Spell of Spring on the tree, causing it to grow out into the cliff. The dry soil at the base of the tree began to loosen as the roots tore up the clay, unable to find purchase in the sandy terrain. The tree began to tilt further and further into the drop, but Gogoat successfully landed on the trunk. With the tree falling, Gogoat burst forth, climbing the tree up towards the cliff in a mad dash. Fighting against time and gravity, Gogoat and Din cleared the lip as the tree went crashing down into the canyon.

Din laughed in exhilaration, bonding with Gogoat, when she saw fighting coming from ahead. As she caught up, most of the smaller enemies had been dispersed, but then a titanic terror appeared, a massive machine of death flanked by two equally deadly, but smaller vehicles. Din tried to decide what to do, but saw Tora and Poppi's landship being dragged by the car with a clown face on top. Figuring that they needed help, Din spurred Gogoat after them. She considered casting the Spell of Winter, but figured that causing the ice cream truck to slip would only endanger Tora and Poppi. She suddenly felt Gogoat exuding trust again. Unsure what else to do, Din ordered Gogoat to, "Attack!". Gogoat tilted its head down and performed Horn Leech, ramming the side of the ice cream truck in an effort to disable it. Din expected Gogoat to take some damage from the attack, but instead felt the Pokemon to be revitalized somewhat.

A Guild Adventure: An RP with Monster Girls! (ENDED)

Vivian & Sylvia Altissima

@PaulHaynek @Lmpkio

Sylvia and Vivian were taken aback by Morgan's display of telekinetic power. Vivian recovered first and said, "Thanks, Morgan!" before both Vivian and Sylvia yelped as Morgan telekinetically stripped Neil completely. Sylvia was sure only his shirt had been contaminated, but maybe it was better to be safe than sorry. Still, the Vivian tore off one of her leaves and dropped it over Neil's crotch to cover his bits, while Sylvia leaned across her pot, down to Neil, putting her soft hands against his bare chest, and bringing her face close to his chest, sniffing for traces of her nectar.

World of Light

@Lugubrious

Can Din buff Gogoat with the Spell of Spring? What would such a buff entail? Also, do I play Gogoat like a separate character with its own XP bar and such? Do you have 4 pokemon attacks that you wish to assign, or should I pick?

World of Light

Din

Level 3 - (25/30) EXP
Location - Peach's Castle: Garden --> Viridian Forest(?) --> Mad Max
Word Count: 436

Din listened to Steven Stone's explanation, before Poppi whisked her away to the surrounding forest which was full of adorable-looking pokemon. She delighted at the sight of the small leaf-covered goats, but remembered Steven's warning about them needing to be large enough to carry her if she wanted to ride. Otherwise, she would have caught one just based on how cute it was. But then what appeared to be a larger, adult version came majestically around a tree. Something about the Gogoat drew her. She made eye contact with it, and it didn't shy away. it felt like...fate. Almost instinctively, Din tossed her pokeball, and the goat morphed into a beam of light that got sucked into the ball. The ball barely seemed to struggle, returning to Din, who immediately threw the ball on the ground, summoning the Gogoat. It stood there with a majestic calm. As a Disney Princess an oracle, Din had an affinity for nature and her creatures, and maybe the Gogoat sensed that. She reached out a hand to stroke its forehead, and it seemed to welcome it. As her fingers brushed against one of Gogoat's horns, she sensed something, a connection. As if on cue, Gogoat sat down, as if beckoning Din to get on top, which she did. Once she was situated, Gogoat rose. Din gripped the horns pensively, feeling the connection again. By this time Poppi had flown off to her master, and she could hear the roar of cart engines moving away. Her desired to catch up with the party was immediately translated into the Gogoat running, yet it accelerated at just the right speed to still be predictable for Din to ride comfortably. She wondered if Gogoat could somehow sense her thoughts. Holding on tight, Din willed Gogoat to accelerate, and it complied beautifully. Rider and steed were one, and Din understood why, in the world that these pokemon came from, owning them as pets was so important.

Din was amazed that her Gogoat was able to catch up to the fleet of carts, though she saw that trouble was brewing up ahead. Her first thought was to lay down some Spells of Winter, to make it difficult for the enemy vehicles to maneuver, but it seemed as if Bowser Jr. already had that covered with the oil patches that he had created. Then Din felt like she heard a suggestion from Gogoat. Din wasn't sure if their connection was two-way, but she decided to try something unexpected. Gogoat seemed to be part plant, so what would happen if Din cast the Spell of Spring on Gogoat?

Intrigues of Venedig - High Fantasy Mature RP

Dr. Shen's House of Healing

((Post between @Letter Bee and @Stern Algorithm))

A mysterious visitor from Tian itself arrives at Dr. Shen's office, clad in rare blue silk that marked him as a 'Seeker of Immortality' - One of the special agents of Emperor Gao Ming. Escorted by four guards, he asks the receptionist for an immediate meeting with the Doctor in a 'discreet area of his convenience'. Despite the mildness of his words, it was clear that his orders held a genuine authority that must be obeyed. And so he'd wait for the good doctor to escort him to a study or someplace, then present his credentials - A letter imprinted with the Imperial Seal itself.

After that, he would finally reveal his identity as, "Greetings, Doctor Shen. My name is Tieh Zhu, Seeker of Immortality and once I arrive in the Tian Embassy, the new Ambassador to the autonomous City Government of Venedig. I am here to give you new orders."

"Love unites all under the Heavens," Shen LinMu greets the Seeker of Immortality, leading him deeper into the complex, which appears much smaller from the outside, to a small recreational room. This particular room, like many others, was made with wood furnishings, the walls being sliding paper screens framed in wood. But what set this room apart was that the paper was multi-layered, imperceptibly, and cottony, while the wood frames were made of hollow wood. This made the room surprisingly soundproof. Still, LinMu left it up to the Seeker's guards to be the real deterrents of eavesdroppers.

"Is the term already up for the current ambassador? It's hard to keep track of these things. Business keeps me quite...well, busy." This of course, was a lie, intended as a joke, rather than deception, since it was LinMu's business to know things. He leaned forward, eager to hear his orders direct from the Emperor. Since being assigned here, LinMu had merely laid the groundwork for future missions, and simply kept his ear to ground while making a comfortable profit. His orders thus far had simply been, 'trade, listen, wait'.

Tieh Zhu then said, "The Emperor of the West, the sole person who can portray himself as almost an equal to our own Imperial Highness, Gao Ming, has made a bad decision. His 'Iron Decree' will cause only chaos in Venedig, Chaos that you are tasked with exploiting to conduct certain... Experiments. A team of Imperial Alchemists, fellow Seekers of Immortality, will be sent to join you in order to explore the possibility of improving the condensation of Humans and Xul into raw magical energy. My own personal experiment involves the transference and containment of this magical energy into nigh-indestructible gems in order to ensure eternal life and eternal beauty. What is your opinion of this?"

LinMu leaned back, a bored expression passing over his face. "Chaos is a wonderful opportunity for many things," LinMu explained, "Not least of which is destabilizing a rival government." His eyes instinctively darted to the door due to the sensitive nature of what he was saying. "If it's ingredients you need, they are in no short supply, chaos or no, and I have accrued sufficient capital and means to provide you with plenty for your needs. If this is all the Emperor wishes for, I lament that he is not taking full advantage of the decree's repercussions, but it is not my place to question the Emperor's wisdom." LinMu suddenly sat up straight again, and steepled his fingers. "Unless either the ingredients you seek have some sort of 'specific requirement', say something that can only be found in 'higher stock'," here he was referring to noble blood, or perhaps magical prowess, something the rich and noble tended to have better access to, "or you require such tremendous quantities of said ingredients that the usual channels of acquiring them are insufficient to provide." Now LinMu was intrigued. Did the Seeker's experiments require nobles, or more bodies than what was currently in circulation in Venedig's slave trade? Would entire neighborhoods and villages need to quietly disappear into the night?

The Ambassador-to-be frowned, and said, "It should have been the former, but we have acquired a new ally who has an interest in the Nobles, or at least some of them. So instead, we are using the latter - Entire neighborhoods and villages need to vanish."

A pause as he elaborated on his new ally, "Our new compatriots are worshipers of the Old Gods, whom the Reich's 'Church of Existence' says were merely mortals who drank from a mystic Grail or Grahl. These allies' plan is to bring back the Goddess Growthseed and the God Mansbane, which will cause more destabilization than anything we can do." A thin smile, "But at the last minute, we will betray them and save civilization, taking credit for their defeat and then using the prestige to claim ruler-ship over the shattered remnants of the Western Empire..."

"Ah, and that's why we don't question the Emperor's wisdom," LinMu smiled, "Ambition is most exquisite when it is subtle." Still, LinMu shared the Seeker's displeasure; using a few high-quality 'ingredients' was more efficient than extracting usable material from large quantities of low-quality 'ingredients'. However, LinMu didn't like this reliance on 'Old Gods'. There were uncomfortable philosophical implications of having verifiable evidence for another culture's religion. The Gods were best left to the realm of the unseen, at least, that was LinMu's opinion. But he wasn't about to share his theological misgivings with the Seeker, and instead asked a different question, "I hear and I obey, but my current manpower is sufficient only for managing the business and some security. To carry out an operation of the scale you mentioned would require, well, a contingent of military types. A trusted strike-force of unquestioning obedience who would choose death rather than divulge their mission. Without such a force, I would be put at extreme difficulties."

Tieh Zhu smiles, and says, "Arrangements have been made - I brought several hundred mercenaries to escort me through the desert wastes; many of them can be 'persuaded' to take a new contract with your establishment and a fund for hiring more can be transferred to your control. However, do not hire Xul - They are dead-set against anything that can potentially help the Old Gods."

"Wonderful!" LinMu clapped his hands, before putting a finger in the armrest of his chair. The finger turned into wood and melded with the chair, while the foot of the chair immediately below the armrest melded with the ground. Thus connected to the entire facility, somewhere in the pantry, he signaled for a serving girl to bring tea and cakes to the soundproof Hall of Tranquility. Disconnecting his finger from the chair, LinMu took Tieh Zhu's warning about Xul to heart. Though he would not hesitate to hire one if they proved useful, he would be sure to keep the details of the operation on a need-to-know basis. The serving girl soon arrived with refreshments. LinMu grabbed the porcelain teapot and served the tea into two cups with one hand, his other hand holding back his sleeve in traditional serving etiquette. He raised his cup to Tieh Zhu, "Welcome to Venedig, Ambassador."

Blood Reigns Over Westeros: A Song of Ice & Fire Story (Accepting Player Proposals)

@Inkarnate I think I'm done, except for relations with houses, and maybe some stuff that involves the actual lore of the world at this period in time.

World of Light

@Lugubrious

Hey, I'll get a post up soon, but I wanted to ask if I'm restricted to capturing the Pokemon shown in your post with Poppi and Din, or if I can have another one show up to eb capture (don't worry, not gonna bring in legendaries or some nonsense). I'm thinking Ponyta or Blitzle, since Din is looking for a steed and would really go for something that resembles a horse. If so, I have more questions, can a Ponyta be ridden safely (because of the fire on its back), and is a Blitzle big enough to support a human rider?

Noble Arms: Restoring Hope - With Gratitude to TheHangedMan

@Bob the Grunt @Letter Bee @Nimbus

Ishaq listened as the commanding officer explained what forces the enemy was expected to have, and shared Robert's cynicism. There would likely be casualties. But then again, tactics was not his strong point. Looking around the room, it seemed that Callie also functioned more as support and transport, making Robert the most likely target of Ishaq's Noble Arm. "I've always just followed orders, and let others use my ability as they saw fit," Ishaq said with some resignation, "so I should explain fully how I can help. I can support a high-priority target. If the target dies, they return to my side, alive and well. This has two main uses. It allows the target to engage in a suicide mission, without the permanent loss of the target. It also allows the target to complete one objective and immediately begin on another objective in a separate location. That is, if upon completing their objective, the target terminates himself, and I am at the site of the second objective. Essentially, teleportation, the only cost for the target is experiencing the pain of death, but I doubt something like that will bother someone like you, will it?" Ishaq looked at the other man, implying that Robert would likely be his target. "We seem...understaffed for an operation like this, so we'll need to capitalize on making the most of what we have."

My Hero Academia: Chaos Age | Open

Ebisugawa Hyouka

@liferusher

While Hyouka was still posing, someone suddenly came up to her and began poking her in the claws, belly, and cheeks, causing Hyouka to flail back in surprise and putting her claws up in a comical defensive posture. "Wha-wha-what are you doing? Y-your favorite? What?" Hyouka called out, embarrassed and flustered, but as Emi soon slinked off to ruffle someone's hair, Hyouka just pegged it as an overly-friendly demeanor. While slightly invasive, friendliness was a good attribute for a hero, and Hyouka silently approved.

But was this friendly girl a fellow classmate, or another of the quirkless, come to welcome her class? Hyouka suddenly straightened up and pounded her 'fist' into her 'palm' again, making a 'clack' sound, as she realized that there were many quirks that were not immediately, visibly obvious. Perhaps she had made a crucial mistake, though the people preceding her had not made an effort to correct her. Maybe they were just shy. Or maybe...they wanted to keep it a surprise! That's good showmanship, also a great attribute for a hero! But as if to answer Hyouka's desire to see more people with obvious quirks, soon there arrived a girl with orange eyes, but the whites of their eyes were black, a boy with dog ears(!), a girl who looked to be made of some pink, translucent semisolid, and a girl who was a walking cactus. MY FAMILY! Hyouka wanted to greet each and every one of them in turn, but a sudden onset of social timidity followed by indecision on who she wanted to greet first, caused her to gesture and mutter indecisively until the teachers called everyone to follow them to quirk demonstrations.

Hyouka followed excitedly, realizing that everyone who was standing around all followed the teachers. That means they all had quirks! Intrigued and curious, Hyouka's desire to see other quirks in action made her forget for a time that she was supposed to demonstrate as well. As it was, she threw her claws up and shouted "BANZAI!" whenever a particularly showy display occurred, but at least one banzai for every student that went, though for Mitsuo, she shouted, "TAMAYA!", the classic shout for viewing fireworks. So many fire quirks! Fire was the classic element of Red Rangers, so these were definitely heroes. And the Chinese girl could extend her punches and kicks with...Qi? Like a Kung Fu fighter? Knowing martial arts was a Super Sentai staple! And some water quirks! Classic Blue Ranger element! Then there was kage bunshin no jutsu! And bodily possession!

Then there came a bit of a lull in the mood during Lacara's demonstration. But it was another fire quirk! A bit explosive, but explosive passion was a heroic attribute! Hyouka could understand Lacara's rage, but it was a part of the hero's journey to struggle through it. Seo's demonstration also soured the mood a bit, resulting in a minor altercation with the one female teacher. While the attitudes shown were not very hero justice of them, Hyouka could empathize with their rage, or the walls they may have built to protect themselves. besides, the very fact that they were here trying to be heroes, instead of becoming villains, meant their heart was in the right place, and that was half the battle.

Finally, Nadeshiko went up, the first mutant to demonstrate her awesome physiology, but also breaking Hyouka out of her quirk-admiration daze. So when Nadeshiko left, Hyouka got up on the stage. "I'm Ebisugawa Hyouka!" she introduced herself, bowing, causing her antennae, like before, to flip around and slap the ground in front of her. "My quirk is called, 'Shrimp'." She lifted her mismatched claws and clicked her pincers to demonstrate, and turned around to wag her big shrimp tail. "I have very powerful grip strength..." She headed over to the concrete spike/pillar farthest from the audience, gripped it at the base where it was narrow with both claws and cracked the concrete, causing the pillar to fall over like a stone tree. She ran back to face the audience to continue her demonstration, and in her excitement and fluster, she hadn't at all considered that she was damaging school property. ...my shell is extremely durable..." Now, with her claws crossed in front of her, she clumsily ran towards the pillar nearest the audience, colliding with it and falling over from the force of the impact. Getting up she continued, ...See? I'm not hurt! And finally..." she looked at Zhao-sensei and Emiko, hoping to show off her understanding of Chinese from watching kung fu movies with her dad. She crouched down and lifted her tail up. Then she simultaneously straightened her legs while slamming her tail down, and launched herself ten feet into the air, shouting, "WAI FAI BAT PO!" However, she made the mistake of using the Cantonese dialect, which is commonly used in kung fu movies which started in the city of Hong Kong, and can sometimes be incomprehensible to those who spoke Mandarin, the common dialect of China. The statement means 'only speed is unbreakable', and was something Hyouka liked to say when performing a quick and audacious action. She landed, sending a shock into her ankles and knees, the pain bringing tears to her eyes. Soldiering on, Hyouka concluded with, "These are the things I can do on land. Underwater, I'm a great swimmer. I can even breathe underwater. Thank you!" She bowed again, and walked off stage. All in all, Hyouka's demonstration looked like a scene from the movie, Jackass, where drunk idiots try to hurt themselves on camera.

Mori-sensei was quite visibly and audibly impressed by the demonstration, despite Hyouka's childlike demeanor she displayed very impressive strength. When one of the pillars fell simply from the crushing strength of she yeeped in surprise, it was a good thing that the quirk use areas were quite literally built with the knowledge that it would be destroyed and rebuilt countless times. The vertical leap renewed her cheers, and being reminded that she could breathe underwater made her regret not having a water feature for the arena itself. When the student stepped off of the arena, Mori-sensei was waiting for her to give comments and praise.

"Hyouka-kun, that was fantastic! I read up on your quirk details but seeing it in person is such a treat! I will advise you though to be more careful with yourself. I know your shell is tough, but we don't want to see you get hurt here. We'll have to work all that energy off together during my classes, okay?"

"Ah! U-understood, sensei!" Hyouka replied, awkwardly giving a salute. She walked back into the crowd, beaming with joy and anticipation.

Intrigues of Venedig - High Fantasy Mature RP

Dr. Shen LinMu

Name: Shen LinMu (森 林木)

Age: 33

Physical Description:

LinMu has fair skin, long, silky raven hair that goes down to his waist, and pointed yet welcoming golden eyes. He has an effeminate air about him, lightly perfumed and dressed in delicate fabrics, with a confident, elegant strut. yet he only barely approaches opulence, though his wealth is readily apparent, it is not visually oppressive, staying just humble enough for people to see him as relate-able and charitable.

Important items:

• Apothecary's desk -
  A desk with plenty of paper, ink, and quills for writing important missives. Mounted on the desk are shelves and shelves of tiny drawers full of powders and bottles of ingredients, and bags of seeds. Beneath are bookshelves containing ledgers and receipts that record his business transactions.
• Alchemy table -
  Table with mortars, pestles, crucibles, flasks, burners, distillers, etc. for preparing medicine.
• Wood and silk folding fan -
  Used to gesture and to fan himself during hot, Venedig summers.

Short Bio:

LinMu calls himself a merchant and trader from Tian, but that is only because he has a very loose definition of what constitutes as trade. In actuality, he is a spy and dealer of information. His father was a pharmacist, like his father before him. Being humble and poor, LinMu bristled against his life of poverty and simplicity, soon learning about more lucrative, and less legal, applications of his skill. He soon found himself embroiled with the criminal underworld, but due to his talent for earning the trust of people, he soon found that not only were corrupt officials involved, but that it went all the way up. His people skills and prowess with his craft soon caught the eye of those in the intelligence division. Recruited as a spy, he was sent to Venedig, the city of trade, to gather information. There he established Dr. Shen's House of Healing, an apothecary storefront that traded in medicines, but also served as front for seedy operations, such as the manufacturing of poisons and recreational drugs, as well as slave trade, human trafficking, and prostitution. And all this was a front for the trade of information. Of particular note was Dr. Shen's willingness to allow slaves to buy their freedom from him if they provided him with useful information. This makes his establishment a tantalizing destination for escaping slaves, but also a bit of a trap, because if the information is not worth enough, they become his chattel, to do with as he pleases. And Dr. Shen's House of Healing is not the kind of place an unprepared slave would want to be.

Starting Faction: Celestial Empire of Tian

Spell List:

• Wood manipulation -
  A world spell, LinMu has a strong affinity to wood, allowing him to bend and shape plant matter, living and dead, to his whim. His understanding of plant-based toxins and the plants which produce them allows him to use this spell to deadly effect. That coupled with the fact that almost all the furniture, and the entire building of his establishment is made of wood, means that his store is his weapon.
• Merge with wood -
  A Change spell, LinMu can turn his body into wood and merge with plant matter. This makes him extremely difficult to kill and can be used as an escape. It also allows him to merge with his store. In conjunction with wood manipulation, his control is greatly increased, abolishing the typical sluggishness that is often associated with animated plant matter.

Exceptional Skill List:

• Exceptional Aesthetics -
  LinMu carefully dresses and decorates his store to appear as welcoming as possible, offering him a high degree of charisma and charm, and creating an uncanny level of trust towards him in those who seek to do business with him.
• Exceptional Alchemist
  Dr. Shen's store's success is based off of his high-quality medicines, poisons and drugs. Not only does he have access to the finest ingredients, he knows how to extract their essences flawlessly, and if confronted with the unknown, can superbly deduce much information given enough time to experiment.
• Exceptional Persuasion
  LinMu has been trained to speak and negotiate, exuding a willingness to hear out what the other side needs, while providing acceptable justifications for his own desires. This coupled with his use of mild, opiate incense allows him to accentuate this trait.
• Exceptional Businessman
  LinMu has a good head for finances, and is not afraid to make a risky investment. Though he has profited and exploited others, it has never gotten to the degree that his reputation as an honest financial partner has been harmed. He preaches the Tian principle of Love in all his dealings, and many leave Dr. Shen's table feeling like they've struck a fair deal.